Food surplus redistributor Company Shop has secured £4.2m of funding from Lloyds Bank to support a major expansion drive and create more than 200 jobs.

The business, which buys and sells surplus stock from manufacturers, used the money to open a 929m2 ​store in Washington, Newcastle and planned to open five new superstores in the next two years.

John Marren, founder and chairman of Company Shop, said: “Over the next three years, we anticipate our increasing network of stores will help us to save over 100m units of perfectly good products from going to waste each year. ​

“This will support manufacturers and retailers to reach their sustainability targets while ensuring products are made available for people to use as originally intended.”​

Investing in sustainability projects​

The funding from Lloyds was part of the bank’s £2bn Clean Growth Financing Initiative, launched in May, which offers discounted finance for clients investing in sustainability projects.

Lloyds Commercial Banking relationship director Mark Butterworth added: “There are 205,000t of edible surplus in the supply chain that could be redistributed and businesses like Company Shop are doing excellent work to bring this figure down and to help the sector become more sustainable.​

“It’s a great example of a firm that we want to support with our Clean Growth Finance, which was launched to help companies that help Britain prosper by reducing the UK’s overall impact on the environment.”​

70m units of surplus products​

This year, Company Shop estimated it would save 70m units of surplus products from going to landfill, with this number increasing for each new store opened.

It operates five other stores in Corby, Grimsby, Wentworth, Middleton and St Helens on a membership basis, with eligible customers including those working in the food manufacturing industry, the emergency services and the National Health Service.